Rajasthan

India's annual cattle and camel fair provides a chance to see an extraordinary gathering of animals -- and soak up a little culture too. Thousands from throughout the country come to the annual trade event to race and sell about 50,000 camels. The fair features music, dancing and other traditional festivities. A 16-day custom tour called the Colors of Rajasthan can be scheduled during the Pushkar camel fair (Nov. 20-28 this year) or other times of the year. The itinerary includes ancient kingdom hot spots such as Jodphur, the Blue City at Mehrangarh Fort and Udaipur on Lake Pichola.

India's annual cattle and camel fair provides a chance to see an extraordinary gathering of animals -- and soak up a little culture too. Thousands from throughout the country come to the annual trade event to race and sell about 50,000 camels. The fair features music, dancing and other traditional festivities. A 16-day custom tour called the Colors of Rajasthan can be scheduled during the Pushkar camel fair (Nov. 20-28 this year) or other times of the year. The itinerary includes ancient kingdom hot spots such as Jodphur, the Blue City at Mehrangarh Fort and Udaipur on Lake Pichola.

I enjoyed Linda Minoo's narrative, "Another View of Camel Drivers" [Letters, Dec. 14]. It brought back fond memories of my own experience in 1998, when I toured small villages in Rajasthan for two hours by camel caravan, led by polite, enthusiastic camel drivers who, to my surprise, turned out to be that evening's entertainers. They treated us to the most harmonious vocals I have ever heard, accompanied exquisitely on their own handcrafted instruments. After their unforgettable outdoor concert, we retired to our luxurious, carpeted tents with hot and cold running shower, sink, flushable toilets and comfy beds.

JAIPUR, India - It was a hot, dusty morning here in the capital of Rajasthan as the cast of "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" slowly emerged from several battered "vanity" buses lined up in front of the iconic City Palace. Despite the all-star team of British actors and actresses, including Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith, the big attraction for hundreds of gawking passersby was young Dev Patel, of"Slumdog Millionaire" fame. The film, which opens in U.S. theaters Friday, is about seven middle-class Britons whose savings have melted down with the global economy.

There is much that divides India and its traditional rival Pakistan: families long separated by partition, divided Kashmir, fear of a fourth war between the nuclear adversaries. But when it comes to the Great Onion Crisis of 2010, grateful India has found a friend across the border. Onion prices across India have more than doubled to as much as 90 cents a pound this month, sending shock waves through vegetable market and kitchen alike in a country where many subsist on $1 a day. Some have taken to the streets in protest bedecked in onion garlands.

JAIPUR, India - It was a hot, dusty morning here in the capital of Rajasthan as the cast of "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" slowly emerged from several battered "vanity" buses lined up in front of the iconic City Palace. Despite the all-star team of British actors and actresses, including Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith, the big attraction for hundreds of gawking passersby was young Dev Patel, of"Slumdog Millionaire" fame. The film, which opens in U.S. theaters Friday, is about seven middle-class Britons whose savings have melted down with the global economy.

Satnam Singh Bhamara stares down at his feet. At size 22, there's a lot to stare at. The 14-year-old is already 7 feet tall and weighs 250 pounds. To say that he stands out from the other boys in this remote Punjab village, population 463, is like saying that Everest is a rather tall mountain. After its runaway success in China, the NBA has turned its sights on India. But basketball is not terribly popular here; as one sportswriter says, "genetically, we're not inclined that way. " But what if you could find an Indian version of Yao Ming, the 7-foot-6-inch Houston Rocket center who jumpstarted the Chinese game?

Rajasthan was the highlight of our monthlong trip in India ["Living Like Royalty in Rajasthan," Oct. 5]. Like writer Elizabeth Pope, we booked with an Indian tour company found on the Internet, selecting Concord Travels and Tours (www.concordtravels.com). We were delighted by the attention to detail and the overall quality of the services provided. We loved staying in maharajahs' palaces. Unlike the Popes, we had a wonderful experience at the Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur. Rambagh Palace in Jaipur and Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur also are not to be missed.

Khushwant Singh halted his tennis serve in mid-swing and cupped his ear. As his playing companions steamed in the already blazing morning sun and shuffled their feet impatiently on the red clay courts of the Gymkhana Club, Singh let out a jubilant shout: "The monsoon bird is here! Hail clamator jacobinus, the monsoon is coming!" In the excruciating pre-monsoon temperatures of northern India, when 110-degree heat is just a starting point, there are no sweeter words.

Jaisalmer, India Last spring, I invited my eldest child to go on a trip with me. Indigo had just turned 9, and I had panicked. One, because she was halfway through her time of living at home, and worse, she was mere years away from thinking of me as a source of tedium and embarrassment. One-on-one time with her was becoming a precious commodity. I had to seize the moment. "Really," I said. "Your choice of destination: Washington, D.C., for the Lincoln Memorial? Los Angeles for the Getty?

There is much that divides India and its traditional rival Pakistan: families long separated by partition, divided Kashmir, fear of a fourth war between the nuclear adversaries. But when it comes to the Great Onion Crisis of 2010, grateful India has found a friend across the border. Onion prices across India have more than doubled to as much as 90 cents a pound this month, sending shock waves through vegetable market and kitchen alike in a country where many subsist on $1 a day. Some have taken to the streets in protest bedecked in onion garlands.

Satnam Singh Bhamara stares down at his feet. At size 22, there's a lot to stare at. The 14-year-old is already 7 feet tall and weighs 250 pounds. To say that he stands out from the other boys in this remote Punjab village, population 463, is like saying that Everest is a rather tall mountain. After its runaway success in China, the NBA has turned its sights on India. But basketball is not terribly popular here; as one sportswriter says, "genetically, we're not inclined that way. " But what if you could find an Indian version of Yao Ming, the 7-foot-6-inch Houston Rocket center who jumpstarted the Chinese game?

Jaisalmer, India Last spring, I invited my eldest child to go on a trip with me. Indigo had just turned 9, and I had panicked. One, because she was halfway through her time of living at home, and worse, she was mere years away from thinking of me as a source of tedium and embarrassment. One-on-one time with her was becoming a precious commodity. I had to seize the moment. "Really," I said. "Your choice of destination: Washington, D.C., for the Lincoln Memorial? Los Angeles for the Getty?

I enjoyed Linda Minoo's narrative, "Another View of Camel Drivers" [Letters, Dec. 14]. It brought back fond memories of my own experience in 1998, when I toured small villages in Rajasthan for two hours by camel caravan, led by polite, enthusiastic camel drivers who, to my surprise, turned out to be that evening's entertainers. They treated us to the most harmonious vocals I have ever heard, accompanied exquisitely on their own handcrafted instruments. After their unforgettable outdoor concert, we retired to our luxurious, carpeted tents with hot and cold running shower, sink, flushable toilets and comfy beds.

Rajasthan was the highlight of our monthlong trip in India ["Living Like Royalty in Rajasthan," Oct. 5]. Like writer Elizabeth Pope, we booked with an Indian tour company found on the Internet, selecting Concord Travels and Tours (www.concordtravels.com). We were delighted by the attention to detail and the overall quality of the services provided. We loved staying in maharajahs' palaces. Unlike the Popes, we had a wonderful experience at the Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur. Rambagh Palace in Jaipur and Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur also are not to be missed.

This land of kings is dotted with the centuries-old opulent palaces, hilltop forts and hunting lodges of maharajahs. And, luckily for travelers, many of these palatial digs are surprisingly affordable luxury hotels. On our first trip to India last November, my husband, Larry, and I wanted to live like royalty in Rajasthan's heritage hotels -- once-private royal residences turned hostelries, some with the maharajahs still in residence -- while we traveled through the northwestern state.

October 6, 1996 | CARL DUNCAN, Duncan is a freelance writer based in British Columbia, Canada

"Welcome to the land where men dream in stone." The turbaned station master greeted us with these words as we walked through Jaisalmer's railway station. Now, three days later, watching the sunrise set the sandstone facets of this desert outpost aglow, they come back to us. We are sitting on the shore of the water reservoir below the town of Jaisalmer, our backs against the stone railing of a Hindu temple.

This land of kings is dotted with the centuries-old opulent palaces, hilltop forts and hunting lodges of maharajahs. And, luckily for travelers, many of these palatial digs are surprisingly affordable luxury hotels. On our first trip to India last November, my husband, Larry, and I wanted to live like royalty in Rajasthan's heritage hotels -- once-private royal residences turned hostelries, some with the maharajahs still in residence -- while we traveled through the northwestern state.

October 6, 1996 | CARL DUNCAN, Duncan is a freelance writer based in British Columbia, Canada

"Welcome to the land where men dream in stone." The turbaned station master greeted us with these words as we walked through Jaisalmer's railway station. Now, three days later, watching the sunrise set the sandstone facets of this desert outpost aglow, they come back to us. We are sitting on the shore of the water reservoir below the town of Jaisalmer, our backs against the stone railing of a Hindu temple.